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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2004 Week 01 Hansard (Thursday, 12 February 2004) . . Page.. 339 ..

The criteria for issue of licences are designed to protect public safety. Where a licence is required, the government will only be authorised to issue licences where it is satisfied that the person is a suitable person to hold a licence and can meet their obligations and safety duties under the legislation. A person would generally not be suitable if they have recent criminal convictions for offences involving violence or fraud or have close business associates with such convictions. The government will also need to consider the person’s qualifications and experience in handling the dangerous substance and whether they have breached their obligations under the legislation in the past.

The regulation-making powers in the bill will also enable the establishment of a notification scheme for the storage of dangerous substances above prescribed high-risk threshold quantities through the creation of a register for monitoring locations and quantities. These provisions are essential to ensuring that the territory can manage these substances in the interests of workplace and public safety. These provisions may be relevant, for instance, if Australian governments decide that it is necessary to track the movements of explosive precursors such as ammonium nitrate fertiliser. The bill would allow the ACT to respond quickly to any national decision on the regulation of ammonium nitrate, whether this is to ban the substance, only allow it to be used with a licence or only allow it to be used with notification to the government.

In addition to the requirements to meet safety duties, chapter 5 of the bill establishes an additional set of offences relating to prohibited and controlled dangerous substances. These offences will deter and punish those who handle dangerous substances without authority. The bill creates a category of prohibited dangerous substances. This will include highly dangerous explosives such as C4 and semtex, and asbestos, which is now banned for further use throughout Australia due to its serious health risks.

A scale of lower level penalties is provided for the unauthorised handling of controlled dangerous substances—that is, dangerous substances that require licences issued by the government—or for handling dangerous substances in a way that is not permitted under the regulations. This will mean that where the regulations contain technical safety storage requirements—for example, separation distances for the storage of explosives—people must comply with these requirements or face heavy penalties.

Chapter 6 of the bill contains measures to ensure that people comply with their obligations. A wide range of enforcement tools is proposed—from voluntary compliance agreements and improvement and prohibition notices to enforceable undertakings and court-issued injunctions. Voluntary compliance agreements will allow people handling dangerous substances to enter into cooperative agreements with inspectors to rectify potentially dangerous situations.

More powerful measures, such as prohibition notices, can be used in situations where it is necessary to stop activities in the face of immediate danger and risk of serious harm. These compliance measures are intended to align with existing and proposed measures in the OH&S Act. Together the two acts will form a comprehensive framework for regulating safety in workplaces and in all places where dangerous substances are handled.

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